Mary Anne's New Adopted Brother
by Elizabeth8289
Summary: Mary Anne was all excited when she found out her family decided to adopted an orphan at Stoneybrook's Children Home. When she met her new adopted brother, she remembered him since his basketball team from Stoneybrook Day School plays at her school.
1. Excellent News!

"Hi, Mary Anne, would you like to go to the movies?" asked my boyfriend, Logan Bruno.

"Sure!" I exclaimed happily. "When are we going?"

"Tonight for seven-thirty pm. Cam Geary's movie of _Superman vs. Octopus man _is out," replied Logan.

"Oh, that's right, it is. I've been dying to see his movie anyway," I said.

Cam Geary is my all-time favorite movie star and he's cute (don't tell Logan that I told you). I'm Mary Anne Spier and I'm a thirteen-year-old resident of Stoneybrook, CT.

Dad had to raise me by himself after my mom passed away when I was very small. I never knew her. Last winter, he had a surprise visitor; his old high school girlfriend, Sharon Schafer, had just got divorced and moved back here from California! Her parents sent her there for college.

Her daughter, Dawn happens to be my best friend. Her youngest son, Jeff, was never happy here and ended up moving back to California. In the meantime, Dad and Sharon were dating. Shortly after Jeff left, they got married and Dawn & I became stepsisters! Dad and I live on Burnt Hill Road now after many years living on Bradford Court. I have a cat named Tigger. I named him after a character from _Winnie the Pooh_ like I always wanted.

I have two best friends. My other best friend is Kristy Thomas whom I grew up with. In fact, we were next door neighbors. She moved before me with the same exact reason—to join a stepfamily. For starters, her father left when her youngest brother, David Michael was too young to remember his father.

When we started seventh grade, Mrs. Thomas was dating a millionaire named Watson Brewer, who happens to own a mansion (I'm serious). Right after seventh grade ended, Mrs. Thomas became Mrs. Brewer and the Thomas family moved in with the Brewers.

Watson has two younger kids, Karen and Andrew. The family includes

Kristy's two older brothers, Charlie and Sam, her adopted baby sister, Emily Michelle, and her grandmother who helps out. They also have a few pets. That's what you called a full house!

That night, Logan and I were at the movies to see _Superman vs. Octopus Man._ Cam was playing Superman. He's an excellent actor. After the movie, we went to Friendly's for ice treats. We shared a double cone ice cream; I had chocolate and he had vanilla.

Later, at home, I was very tired and went to bed at eleven-fifteen pm. The next day, Dad was about to give us an announcement.

"The attic is going to be cleaned and we'll turn it into a bedroom because Sharon and I decided to adopt an orphan," said Dad who was very happy about it.

"Really?" I asked. I was excited myself.

"Yes," said Sharon smiling.

"Sweet!" I exclaimed.

"But we have enough kids," said Dawn.

"We can add one more. We have room for that," said Dad.

"And I don't mind to have more siblings," I told my sister.

"How old should we adopt? Do you want someone your age or younger?" asked Sharon letting us choose.

"Someone our age makes sense to me. Jeff likes to be the youngest," replied Dawn.

"Can we adopt a boy?" I asked.

"Sure. Two girls and two boys is a great idea," smiled Sharon.

"So, we're adopting him a bit after we finish the attic?" I asked.

Dad nodded and added, "I'll be off all this week, so I can clean the attic while I'm at it."

"I have to work late all week," said Sharon.

"And I have a sitting job with Mallory on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night, so I won't be home much," said Dawn.

"Looks like it'll be just you and me since I won't have a sitting job until Wednesday afternoon after school," I said.

"That'd be great," said Dad who was thrilled about that.

"This means on most nights, it would be father-daughter night," I said.

"That's right," smiled Dad.

"Swell! I love that part," I said. "When are you starting the attic?"

"Tomorrow," replied Dad.

"I can hardly wait," I smiled.

After breakfast, I went to get dressed. I left my hair down with a blue headband. That afternoon, I was writing a letter to Bob to tell him the news about adopting an orphan boy soon. I was finishing it up when I started to feel pins and needles in my right hand, so I stopped after I wrote, _Your Friend, Mary Anne_. I'll fold it later.

I never had pins and needles in my hand. Then I noticed it was swollen.

"Now what?" I asked myself.

That was when I noticed it was a splinter. No wonder why hand was sore. I got my tweezers and tried to get it out, but it was stuck, so I went to Dad.

"Can you please try to get that splinter? It's on my right hand right there," I said showing it to him. "I just tried to get it out with my tweezers, but it wouldn't come out."

"That's a bad one," said Dad.

He did manage to get it out a few minutes later.

"Thanks. That's better," I said. "I was writing a letter to Bob when I start to feel pins and needles on that hand. It was swollen, that was when I noticed it was a splinter. I don't even know how I got it."

My hand was red for the most of the day. I folded the letter with my left hand and it was neat, which surprised me. Since my right hand was too sore to write, I managed to use my left hand to write my name and address at the top of an envelope and Bob's name and address in the middle without scribbling. I put the letter in it and closed it with a red star sticker. I came down with it in my good hand.

"I'll bring it to the post office tomorrow," said Dad.

"Thanks, Dad," I replied smiling.

"How's your right hand?" asked Dad.

"It's a little red, but I'll be alright," I said showing it to him.

"Do you want ice to make it feel better?" asked Dad.

"That'll be great. It's also a bit sore," I said.

I had ice on it and felt better.

"That's better. I'll see how it feels tomorrow," I said.

"If it's still sore, you don't have to help out. I don't want your hand to get sore even more," Dad told me.

"I don't blame you," I agreed. "I don't want it either."


	2. The Attic Clean Up

The next day, at school, my hand was still too sore to write, so before math class started, I went up to my English class.

"May I go to the nurse's office? I had a splinter yesterday and my right hand is too sore to write," I said.

"Sure you can," said the English teacher as she gave me the pass.

"Thanks," I replied as I left to go there.

At the nurse's office, she took a look at my hand and it was red.

"I could tell it's sore," said the nurse.

I could barely move my hand.

"I'll wrap the bandage around your hand," said the nurse.

"Okay," I said.

She did and added, "I'll excuse you from gym until for awhile until your hand gets better."

"Alright," I replied.

She wrote the note to give to my gym teacher, Ms. Rosenburg. At Gym, I gave it to her.

"Okay. That's fine," said Ms. Rosenburg.

I sat at the bleachers to watch the rest doing activities. Later, at lunch, Kristy offered to help me out by bringing my lunch to the table.

"Thanks, Kristy," I said.

"Not a problem," said Kristy.

"It's from the splinter I had yesterday afternoon. I noticed it after writing a letter to Bob,"

I explained. "I have some news to tell you."

"Okay," said Kristy.

After school, I told the girls the news and they were thrilled. I did my best writing with my right hand, but luckily, I had no problems. I ignored the sore. I'm glad about that.

"Is it better today?" asked Dad.

"It's been sore, so the school nurse wrapped the bandage around it and excused me from

Gym for now until it gets better," I replied.

"You can be excused from helping me with the attic for today, Mary Anne," said Dad."Okay," I said. "I've been writing and ignored that hand."

"That's good," said Dad.

"I know, I _never_ had a splinter that makes anything sore," I said.

"I think you had it when you were about four or five," Dad told me.

"I did? I must if been with Kristy and Claudia at that time," I replied.

"I think you were with them," said Dad. "Where's Dawn?"

"She's with Stacey. They said something about to the mall to have an after school treat at a diner. They'll be there until five this afternoon for the BSC meeting," I replied.

"Okay," said Dad. "I mailed the letter by the way with a couple of paid bills."

"Thanks," I said.

After I did homework, I used my left hand to put it away.

"I'll have to try my best using my writing hand while assigning the members to their sitting job. I'll just ignore the soreness," I said.

"That's a good idea," said Dad.

Later, at Claudia's, it was five-fifteen when Dawn and I arrived there. I was getting the record book ready like I always do. At five-thirty, the phone rang as Kristy answered.

"Hello, Baby-Sitters Club. Oh, hi, Mrs. Newton. Okay, hold on," said Kristy. "Who's free Thursday afternoon from three to five."

I checked and said, "It's all yours, Mallory."

"Okay, I'll do it," said Mallory.

"You're all set, Mr. Newton, Mallory will be there for three," said Kristy. "Okay, bye."

She hung up and sat in her director chair.

"Okay. New business; we'll be hosting a BSC fair a month from today. Everything's all set, so all we need to do is make flyers for the clients and families. We'll be having it for three days from May 22 to 24 from ten in the morning until eight at night. It's the Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday through Monday," announced Kristy. "And Mary Anne, if you want to join us, you can. I don't mind if you don't since it upsets you."

That's what I like about Kristy. See, it was a horrible memory. It happened in New York City one weekend while I was with the Willis family who always invite me to go with them. My third best friend, Kayla, collapsed there playing a few games. Luckily, she was fine. It was just her appendix. Unfortunately, there was something else that is wrong with her. That got me very worried.

A week later, she was worse and they had to rush to New York City. Only her twin, Kaylee- my fourth best friend-, stayed with my family. Two days later, Kayla came back upset. She told me and Kayla her leukemia came back. She had it last time and she lived because my friends & I did a fundraiser to raise money for cancer. She's still struggling to live again. I was very upset.

She and Kaylee live three doors down from me. They're from New York City and they're African-American. They have six other siblings: another set of twins, D.J. and Mario; one set of triplets; Bert, Robert, Jr., and Berta, and M.J. I like seeing their grandparents, Jeff and Gina Tillis who are their mother's parents.

"Thanks for checking on me, I'll think about it," I said.

"Take your time," replied Kristy.

"I'll make the flyers tonight," said our vice-president.

"Okay, swell, to give us a month ahead," said Kristy.

The phone rang as I answered.

"Baby-Sitters Club. Oh, hi, Mrs. Prezzioso. I see, huh-huh. How long do you need a sitter for Jenny? Ok, hold on," I replied as I checked. "Here's the thing. Mrs. Prezzioso needs a sitter to be operated on her stomach on Friday and would need her rest for the next six weeks. Her business is on a business trip until next months. Claudia, Kristy, and I are free."

"Count me out," replied Claudia quickly.

"You can take it, you're closer," said Kristy who doesn't mind Jenny much.

"Okay, Jenny can be with me at my house," I said as I got back on the phone. "Okay, Mrs. P., you're all set, I'm free. She can stay at my house to help you rest. You can bring her on Thursday night. Alright, okay."

I hung up to sit back on the bed.

"What's wrong with her stomach?" asked Kristy.

"She's been having pains in her stomach, which is why she'll be having a surgery to make it feel better," I replied.

"Tell her I wish her luck on her operation and hope she'll get well soon," said Kristy.

"I will," I promised.

After the meeting, at home, I was setting the table. I was making steak; medium rare, which is easy to do with garlic bread and broccoli. That was my idea to add that. Dinner was almost ready when Dad came home doing errands.

"Dinner will be ready shortly," I told him.

"Okay," said Dad.

A minute later, dinner was served.

"Dawn, dinner's ready!" I called to her. "We'll keep food warm for Sharon in case she gets hungry when she gets home from work. Is she having any dinner at work this week?"

"She's going to try to eat supper there," replied Dad.

That was when Dawn came. After dinner and the kitchen was cleaned up, I told Dad what was happening for six weeks.

"Okay, when is Mrs. Prezzioso's bringing Jenny?" asked Dad.

"Thursday night after dinner," I replied.

"Okay," said Dad. "That was a good idea to let her rest."

"I agree," I said.

The next day, my hand was good enough to help Dad with the attic after school, which was right after I did my homework. It still can be sore, but otherwise, it'd be just fine. I can carry some of the boxes. I also slept the floor and the steps where it needs the most. I love helping him out.

"Could you get me some lemonade, honey?" asked Dad.

"Certainly," I said as I went down to get it.

I also got it for myself and went back up to give it up.

"Thanks," said Dad.

"Not a problem," I said.

I cleaned the window that was dusty. I find I can clean some stuff with my other hand. We were half-way done after the attic is ready to be a bedroom.

"This is nice that we're having an attic as a bedroom. It feels like a new home to us," I said.

"I know, we can go to the mattress store tomorrow after picking you up after school," said Dad.

"Sounds good to me," I replied.

"I'd like to have an extra bed for you, Dawn, and Jeff while I get twin beds for the attics," said Dad.

"That's a nice idea for anyone who sleeps over here," I added.

"Yes, I agree," said Dad. "We can go to the mall for the wallpaper and we can go to Wal-Mart for drawers, nightstand, and some hangers along with covers."

"Most boys like Superman, Spiderman, or Batman for their bedroom theme. So, we can match the wallpaper and the covers," I said.

"That's a good idea," said Dad. "We can leave for that now."

"Swell," I smiled as I brought the empty glasses to the kitchen.

We left the house for the mall.

"We can go to Wal-Mart later if it's still open," said Dad.

"Sounds good," I replied.

"And thanks for being my helper today," said Dad.

"I love helping you out," I smiled.


	3. The New Beds

At the mall, we went to JC Penny for the bed covers and wallpapers. I found the two perfect choices for the covers; Superman and Spiderman. That's when an idea hit me.

"We can do Superman," I said.

"That's a good choice," agreed Dad.

I got the Superman cover for both twin beds while I got the other cover for the extra beds, Superman wallpaper and curtains I found.

"Perfect match," I said to myself.

It was about $150.00 and Dad had his credit card. After it was paid, we went to Friendly's for dinner.

"Thank goodness we're a team when it comes for hard work," I said.

"I know," agreed Dad.

After dinner, we shared a big dish of mixed ice cream. I had vanilla and Dad had chocolate. The best part was we had it for free! After that, we headed off toWal-Mart and found a drawer with Superman on it. Same with the nightstand. Dad ordered them and it was to be delivered tomorrow and no payments for twelve months.

"Thank you," said Dad.

At home, I put the covers in our rooms to get them to put on our beds. I get to put the curtains on the window with a help from Dad. We put the wallpaper aside for now.

"We can do the wallpaper tomorrow after ordering the twin beds. They'll be here the day after," said Dad.

"Okay," I said.

"We have wallpaper glue, so we're all set," continued Dad.

"Alright," I said.

The next day, at lunch, I asked Stacey to take over to watch the Perkin girls.

"I still have to help my dad with the attic," I added.

"No problem," said Stacey.

"What's the attic supposed to be?" asked Claudia.

"A bedroom, we're adopting an orphan boy once after it's done. We'll be adopting him who is our age," I replied.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Kristy excitedly.

"I can hardly wait. His room is going to be a Superman theme," I said.

"That's a nice idea," commented Kristy.

"It was my idea and Dad liked it, too," I said. "We got it from JcPenny. We got Superman covers, curtains, and wallpapers. We even went to Wal-Mart after dinner and ordered Superman drawers & nightstand."

"Nice. Maybe most of us can help you with the wallpaper. Stacey can join after she takes

your place," said Claudia.

"That's a good idea," I said. "I won't be home until later. We're going to a mattress store to order twin beds. Dawn, Jeff, and I are getting an extra bed."

"Okay. How about four or four-thirty?" asked Kristy.

"Sounds good," I replied. "We can tell it to Mallory and Jessi after school."

After school, we did let Mallory and Jessi know & they both liked the idea. When we spotted Dad, they asked him if they can help us with the wallpaper.

"Thank you, that'd be great," smiled Dad.

"I'll meet you after five when I'm done watching the Perkin girls," said Stacey.

"I decided to let her to take over so I still can help you out," I said.

"That's fine with me," said Dad.

"See you at around four-thirty," said Kristy. "I'll be with Claudia so I can walk over at your house."

"We should let our mothers know while we're at it," said Claudia.

"That's true we should," agreed Stacey.

At Sleepy's Mattress Store, we found a lot of nice, perfect mattresses, so we were all set.

"We'll deliver them at your house tomorrow afternoon at around one. May we have your number in case of any cancellations?" asked the clerk.

"Sure," said Dad as he gave it to them. "Thank you."

"That was a quick service," I said as we left the store.

"I know," agreed Dad.

At the mall, at three-thirty, we were at the diner for our treats. I had chocolate milkshake with rainbow jimmies and Dad had the same with chocolate jimmies.

I feel very close to him. If you think we were close when he was strict, think again! We were close when I was little: I didn't mind him being strict back then. After our treats, at home, I put on my work clothes and got the wallpaper stuff ready. We had the glue in the cellar. I got the ruler so we can measure the wall and the paper.

The doorbell rang at four-twenty-five and I went to answer to let my friends in.

"We can stay here for supper," said Kristy.

"Okay. The mattresses will be here tomorrow afternoon at one," I told them.

In the attic, we started the wallpaper. Each wall was about twelve inches-some were fourteen inches around the window. Claudia's job was cutting the wallpaper, which she was very creative at. Stacey joined us at four-thirty-five. We were done ten to twenty-five minutes later. Luckily, none of the wallpaper was croaked according to Claudia the expert.

"Nice teamwork," said Dad.

"I agree," I said.

"If you need more than one hand, we're willing to help you both out," said Claudia.

"That's a nice idea, thank you, Claudia," said Dad. "I'm going to order pizza tonight."

"Sweet. We can stay for dinner anyway," said Jessi.

That's what we had at six-thirty from Papa Gino's. Both Stacey and Dawn had salad.

"It's like having a pizza party," I said.

"I know," agreed Mallory.

We laughed at that. We had just come back from our BSC meeting.

The next day, after school, the beds were already at home in our rooms when I got home. Jenny is due to be here after dinner.

"Our new bed looks very nice for the twin beds," I said.

"It sure is, sweetie," agreed Dad.

We put the nightstand in between the twin beds. The Superman covers were already on the beds.

"Don't we need a lamp? We have a light bulb," I said.

"You're right. We do need a lamp," said Dad. "We can do it now. We have time before Jenny comes."

"That's a good idea," I said.

We went to get one at Sears. It was about $50.95. We found a Superman shade, which was about one hundred dollars. The total was $150.95. Then we went back home.


	4. Adoption Day!

We had a quick dinner by ordering Chinese even though it was only me and Dad. The phone rang two minutes later and I got up to answer it.

"Hello? Hi, Mrs. Prezzioso. Okay, we'll watch out for you then. Bye," I said as I hung up and went back to Dad. "Mrs. Prezzioso and Jenny are on their way now."

We were done anyway. We cleaned the table and the kitchen right away and that was when the doorbell rang. I opened the door.

"Hi, Jenny," I greeted her with a smile.

"The members wished you luck and hope you would feel better soon."

"Tell them thank you," said Mrs. Prezzioso.

"I will," I promised. "We just finished with cleaning the attic. It's a bedroom now. We're adopting an orphan boy on Sunday. Dad said she can be with us that day."

"She can share Mary Anne's room. We have twin beds as well," said Dad said.

"That's good," said Mrs. Prezzioso.

On Sunday, it was Adoption Day! I am so excited! That afternoon, at twelve-thirty, we went to Stoneybrook Children's Home for Orphans. It was HUGE! Jenny was holding my hand.

"Remember now, you need to be good in there. If the ruler's talking and you want to say something, you'll need to wait your turn or say 'excuse me'," I told her.

"And some of them might not like...," Dawn started to say.

"Dawn, don't tell her that," I interrupted. "She's four and you know it."

"Thank you, Mary Anne," said Dad.

"She's right, Dawn," he added.

Jenny did behave in there especially in the office.

"How old and what gender would you like to adopt?" asked the ruler.

"A 13-year-old boy please," replied Sharon.

"Okay. We have three boys who are 13," said the ruler. "Their names are Carlos Peters, George Viera, and Danny Anderson."

"It is okay if we meet them?" asked Dad.

"Sure. Let me go them. I'll be right back," said the ruler.

"Carlos Peters seems so similar to me. I think Shannon told me he goes to her school. She said he's one of the best basketball players there. That's how I heard of him," I said.

"We've seen him play at Stoneybrook Middle School. He's known for Slam Dunks and never missed one basket," said Dawn.

"Wow!" exclaimed Jenny.

That was when the ruler returned with the boys.

"This is Carlos Peters, George Veira, and Danny Anderson," said the ruler.

"Aren't you the one who plays your basketball games at Stoneybrook Middle School?" I asked.

"That's me," replied Carlos.

"My friend, Shannon Kilborne, seen you at Stoneybrook Day School," I said.

"I know her. She's in my classes. In fact, she's my girlfriend," said Carlos.

"Isn't that something? When I heard that name, I knew you looked similar," I said.

After we met the other two boys, we made a decision to adopt Carlos.

"You're all set. You can go pack your stuff while I talk to them," said the ruler. "George, Danny, would you help him?"

"Sure. Come on," said Danny as they left.

"There's a few things you need to know about Carlos. First, he lost his family when he was eight years old. He doesn't talk about it much. He knows how to handle bullies. If they tease him or threat him, he would walk away to tell a grown up right away," the ruler began. "Also, he loves pets of any kind. He likes Superman, race cars, Batman, and Spiderman. He's a good boy, so you'll have no trouble with him. He talks about what happens at school. He doesn't like to like, swear, or fighting. he just ignores people who swear."

"Okay," I said.

I remembered Shannon told me about his late family since she was the one who comforted him when he was terribly upset at the time. She knew him since preschool or pre-kindergarten. I noticed Dawn wasn't paying attention at all. I have an idea to get her good later on if she asks about Carlos' family to test her.

"He's careful not to have sweets before lunch or dinner. He's allergic to bees and chocolate," the ruler continued.

"Alright," said Sharon.

"That's it now. Carlos may visit here anytime he wants to," said the ruler.

That when the boys returned with Carlos' things.

"I'll show them to bring the stuff to the car," said Sharon.

"Okay. Carlos, you can come back in to say good-bye," said the ruler.

"Okay. Thank you," said Carlos.

"I'll meet you back here after I say bye to my friends," Carlos added.

"That's fine, sweetie," said the ruler as she gave Dad and Sharon the adoption papers. "Just sign here and have the judge do the same."

"Okay," said Dad.

That's what they did.

"I'll call the judge tomorrow," Dad added.

"I noticed he looked nervous," I said.

"I know," agreed Sharon.

"How did she know that?" the ruler asked, amazed.

"I'm sensitive and if he wants to talk to me about anything, he can because I'm a very good listener," I replied.

"That's a good thing," said the ruler.

Carlos came back about a minute later.

"Bye," said Carlos.

"Bye," said the ruler. "I just told them you may visit anytime."

"Okay," Carlos said, who was trying not to cry.

I put my arm around his shoulder to comfort him. He didn't mind at all since he knew I was going to make him feel better.

"If you want, you and I can talk. I know how you feel," I said.

"Thanks," said Carlos, who was trying to smile a bit.

In the car, I was sitting with him.

"You could tell she cares for him already," said Sharon.

"I know. She did say she heard of him and seen him before," said Dad.

On the way home, I said, "I could tell you were nervous right away."

"Just a little," Carlos admitted.

"I'm very sensitive about anything and a good listener," I said. "I know how you feel. Well, Sharon's my stepmother. I grew up on Bradford Court. When Dad married her, we moved in with her and Dawn on Burnt Hill Road. I was upset. It took me awhile to get used to be at my new house."

"So, you're saying I could get used to it one day?" Carlos added as I nodded. "Thanks. I feel a little better now."

"What about your...," my stepsister began.

"Dawn, don't start asking him any questions that could upset him," Jenny said, who was smart to remember that.

"Thank you, Jenny," I said.

"I don't care," said Dawn.

"You should respect people's feelings. Didn't you listen to what the ruler told us? He doesn't like to talk about it," I said.

"Yes," Dawn lied.

"Actually, you weren't paying attention," I said. "I noticed that. Let him answer when he wants to."

"Thank you, Mary Anne," said Carlos.

At home, I led him to the attic.

"This is it, your new room," I said. "I'll help you unpack your stuff."

That's what I did.

"Thanks for helping me," said Carlos.

"No problem." I said.

"I like the Superman theme," said Carlos.

"The theme was my idea," I said. "I know boys like Superman, Spiderman, and Batman while the other boys like race cars. My part-time stepbrother, Jeff, likes anything. He's in California now. See, Sharon grew up here before moving there for college. She got married and had two kids, Dawn & Jeff. Then Sharon got divorced and moved back here with the kids. Jeff was miserable here and ended up back there after awhile. Dad and Sharon actually dated long time ago during high school. Just after Jeff left, Dad and Sharon got married like I mentioned earlier."

"That's cool," said Carlos.

"I never met my real mother. She joined the angels when I was too young to remember her of cancer at age 24," I continued.

"Oh," said Carlos.

"I'm getting tired. May I please leave the table?" asked Carlos.

"Yes, of course," replied Sharon.

"Thanks for dinner," said Carlos as he got up and went up to his new room.

After dinner and cleaning the kitchen, I went up to see Carlos. I knocked on the attic door and came in to sit with him. He was looking at something.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Do you want to see some pictures of my family and my house?" asked Carlos.

"Sure," I replied.

"This is my family. That's my mother, Monica, and my father, Carl, whom I was named after," said Carlos.

"And that's my home," he added.

"Wow," I said.

"That's me at age eight, my older brother, Alexander, who was 11 and my older sister, Alexandra who was nine," said Carlos.

"You're just like your brother," I said.

"Yeah. They're all dead now," said Carlos.

"I'm sorry about your family. Shannon told me and my friends about it already," I said.

"Thanks. I'll explain it to you if you like," replied Carlos.

"I don't mind," I replied.

He explained everything on how he lost his family.

"That's a shame. I felt bad when Shannon told us," I said.

He even continued on how he ended up in Children's Home for Orphans.

"Oh," I said. "When my mom died, her parents raised me in Iowa, where she grew up, because my dad was too depressed and wasn't sure he can raise an infant on his own right away. He didn't take me back until I was 18 months old when he was ready to do so."

"That's cool," Carlos said.

"I know," I agreed.


	5. Dawn Breaks the Sleepover Rules

Five weeks later, when Mrs. Prezzioso was fully recovered from her surgery, she was able to pick Jenny up.

"We had a nice time," I said.

Carlos came by.

"This is my new adopted brother, Carlos and this is Jenny's mother, Mrs. Prezzioso," I said introducing them to each other.

"Hi, pleasure to meet you," said Carlos.

"Same here," said Mrs. Prezzioso.

"Here is her stuff," said Dad coming down to give it to Mrs. Prezzioso. "She was well behaved."

"Thank you for everything," said Mrs. Prezzioso.

"Yeah. Thanks," said Jenny.

"No problem," said Dad.

They left two minutes later. That night, Dawn and I were talking about having a sleepover on Saturday night.

"What a nice idea. Your father and I are going to a nightclub anyway until about midnight. Carlos may join you girls," said Sharon.

"Sweet," I said.

"There is one rule: no leaving the house after seven," said Dad.

"Got it," I said.

"Got it? We did it last time, didn't we?" asked Dawn.

"No," I replied. "We'll have to let the others know at the meeting tomorrow. What time should they come over anyway?"

"It's at six, so they can come at around five-thirty," answered Dad. "You may hang out, as long as it's not after seven since it gets dark at that hour."

"Alright," I said.

"We'll be going to New York City next month the weekend before Memorial Day all week. If I find out, you broke that after seven pm rule and tell me whose idea was that, one isn't going," warned Dad.

"At least we, members,could do a Memorial Day Weekend fair we're hosting," said Dawn.

"Count me out for that weekend," I said.

I've been avoiding that due to this horrible memory I had when my best friend, Kayla Willis, collapsed at one of them. She has leukemia and is fighting to live. This is her second time since she lived when she had it for the first time.

"We'll be inviting your grandmother to be with us," said Dad.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes," replied Dad.

"Swell!" I exclaimed.

The next day, at Claudia's, we told the girls what's happening on Saturday.

"Awesome," said the others.

"Except for one thing; we can hang out, but not after seven," I told them.

"That stinks," said Claudia.

"That's the way it is," I said. "If Dawn or I came up with that idea to be out after that hour, one of us cannot go to New York City next month."

"What kind of a rule is that?" asked Mallory.

"That's the only rule," I replied.

"Why can't Carlos cover for us?" asked Stacey.

"What if Dad finds out if we're out after seven? I'm not taking a risk of not going to New York City," I said.

On Friday, I was doing a book report, which was due Monday, for _Winkle in _Time. It's one of my favorites. I was already done before five. We just had to do a three-page book report. Dawn and I left for the meeting. The following day, I was getting ready for tonight by curling my hair and left it loose. Later, at five-thirty, the gals arrived.

"Hi, everyone. Dad and Sharon are getting ready to leave there," I said.

"Okay," said Jessi as they all entered.

"Just remember, we cannot leave the house after seven," I reminded them.

At six-fifteen, the doorbell rang and I opened it.

"Cokie? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Mind if I come in to use the computer for a moment or two?" asked Cokie.

"For what?" I asked.

"Just let me show you," repliedCokie.

In the den, on the computer, she was emailing someone for something.

"What's going on?" asked Stacey, who was with us girls.

"We decided to do something fun," said Cokie printing something out and gave it to me.

"Whoa. Savenger hunt? First of all, it's almost seven and we cannot leave the house after that hour. Second, if Dawn or I break that rule, we won't able to go to New York City," I told Cokie.

"What's in it for us?" asked Dawn.

"Logan," said Cokie.

"How about we do something interesting? The winner group will eat with him and the losers eat with Alan," said Dawn.

"Deal," said Cokie.

"Excuse me; I need to talk to Dawn," I said bringing her out there. "Are you trying not to go to New York City? Dad said no leaving the house after seven and it's nearly quarter of."

"Don't you want to be with Logan?" asked Dawn.

"It doesn't matter. I am not going to get in trouble because of you," I said. "I'm staying behind."

"I agree. Same here," said Stacey.

"How about we'll leave and return before he and Mom finds out? Pretend we really didn't leave after seven," said Dawn.

"But Dad could still find out," I pointed out.

"The older members can leave while Mallory and Jessi stay behind with Carlos," said Dawn. "Excuse me. I'll go talk to him."

"Is she trying to get us in trouble?" asked Mallory.

"Yep. At least you and Jessi would stay behind," said Stacey.

"I know," said Jessi.

"Here's the list," said Cokie.

The list was made like this:

1. Write a letter to Logan

2. Find anything that is red

3. Find anything that is white

Tie breaker: Find a Cam Geary Movie.

"I think two of us should go and the rest of us can stay in case if we get in trouble none of us would be involved," said Stacey.

"I agree," said Kristy.

"Mary Anne and Dawn can go," said Cokie.

Dawn came down.

"I told Carlos I'd give him $5.00 if he doesn't say anything to my mom or your dad. If he does, no money," said Dawn.

"You bribed him? You're going to get him in trouble if he tells a lie," I said.

"No, he won't," said Dawn.

"You're staying. I'm going with Kristy," I said.

"Good idea," said Kristy.

I went up to get ready by writing a love letter to Logan and put the secret admirer. After I was done; I put it in my pocket, put my hair in the bun, and went downstairs.

"You put your hair up?" asked Cokie.

"Why? What if Sharon and Dad happened to notice me?" I asked.

Then the phone rang and Dawn went to answer it.

"Hello. Hi, Mom. Yes, everything's fine. We're getting ready to make smores," said Dawn.

"Okay. Just make sure to get to bed before we come home," said Sharon.

"Okay," said Dawn as she hung up.

Kristy and I left then. On the way to the Brunos', I showed her the love letter to Kristy.

"You already did that?" asked Kristy as I nodded. "Wow. That was quick."

"I know," I agreed.

When we got there, Kristy took a picture of the letter as I put it in the mailbox.

"I know where we can get red and white things," I said.

"Me, too. Let's go," said Kristy.

We nodded. At the store, I got a red apple while Kristy got white line paper.

"Do you know you get a free movie?" asked the clerk.

"Really? Do you have any Cam Geary movies?" I asked hopefully.

"They're over there," said the clerk.

I went there and got the Savannah Wills' Wish where Cam plays Steven and the mother's dying of cancer. It was $10.00 and gave him the exact price. Then we left for home. At home, we joined the girls for smores. I took the price off the movie so Dad and Sharon won't know about it.

"Done already?" asked Stacey.

"Yep," I replied.

"All we need to do now is to wait for Marci," said Kristy.

That was when she arrived.

"Let's compare the goods," said Cokie.

We did.

"It's a tie," said Cokie.

"Actually, you lose," I said as I got the movie to prove it.

"What?" exclaimed Cokie.

"Yep, so this means you'll be with Alan Gray," said Kristy.

"Have fun," said Stacey.

"He promised not to make any jokes and noises," said Dawn.

Cokie left then.

"Did you see her face?" asked Dawn.

We all laughed. I put the movie with the other movies. Then we got into our nightgowns.

"Let's just say. We did leave, but came back before seven on the nose," said Dawn.

"What if Dad wants to know?" I asked.

"Don't say anything," replied Dawn.

"Good thing you came home. Mom and Dad are coming home now," said Carlos.

"Did you say anything?" asked Dawn.

"To make you happy, no," replied Carlos.

"Good," said Dawn as she went back in to get $5.00 like she promised Carlos.

When I looked at the clock, it was nearly nine. We were outside making smores when they came home after nine. Carlos was with us. Dawn noticed them.

"Hi, we're back here making more smores," said Dawn.

"Did you girls had fun?" asked Dad.

"We sure did," I replied.

"Shouldn't you be in bed before we come home?" asked Sharon.

"Why? It's after nine," said Dawn.

"Yeah. We're too old to go to bed early. It's a sleepover," I added.

"That was if we were coming home after midnight," Dad told Sharon.

Two hours later, we went to bed. I was too tired to watch my new movie. I'll watch that tomorrow.


	6. Mary Anne and Carlos: It was Dawn

The next day, after the other gals left for home, Carlos and I were watching _Savannah Wills' Wish_. It was very good.

"Cam Geary is the best actor. He's one of my favorites," I said.

Even though it reminds me of Kayla with leukemia, I still enjoyed it.

"It reminds me of my best friend, Kayla Willis. She has leukemia herself," I said. "I'll explain it to you later."

"Okay," said Carlos.

That was when Dad came in to join us.

"Hi, Dad," I said.

"What's up?" asked Carlos.

"I figured I'd join you," replied Dad.

"Okay," I said.

"We can pause for a few minutes. I just need to go to the bathroom," said Carlos.

"Okay. No problem," I said as I got up to paused it while Carlos headed up to the bathroom. "We were just watching _Savannah Wills' Wish_. It's very good. Cam Geary plays the son, Steve. The mother was diagonsed with cancer at the beginning. Steve's the only child and he had already lost his father at a young age of cancer himself."

That was when Carlos came back down.

"We can go back to the movie now," said Carlos.

That's what I did.

"When did you get it?" asked Dad.

"Last night, but we did that before seven though," I replied.

"Oh, okay," said Dad. "Did you had a fun time otherwise?"

"We did," I replied.

That afternoon, I was reading a book in my room when Dawn came in.

"You better not say a word about last night," said Dawn.

"Calm yourself," I said. "All I said before seven."

"Good," said Dawn.

"If Dad asks me, what do you want to do? Lie to him?" I asked.

"Yes," replied my sister.

"You know. If I get in trouble for lying, I'm blaming it on you," I warned. "Now excuse me, I'll go somewhere else to read."

Outside, I was trying to read Dawn just came right out.

"Now what?" I asked in my thoughts.

"If you say one word, I will never forgive you," said Dawn.

"Plus, you would be the one who would stay behind, not me," I told her.

Boy, does she drive me nuts! I have an idea to tell Dad: when she's not around, which would be tonight anyway since I'd be out with him. That night, Dad came up to me.

"Are you almost ready to head out there?" asked Dad.

"Yeah," I replied as I got my purse.

We were going to the mall and Carlos decided to come along, which was fine by us. I told Carlos the plan to tell Dad and he agreed.

"Is Carlos ready?" asked Dad.

"Let me get him," I replied as I went up to the attic. "Carlos, are you ready to go?"

"I'll be right down, I'll just put my shoes on," said Carlos.

"Okay," I said as I went back down. "He said he'll be right down. He just needs to put his shoes on."

That was when Carlos came down. We left for the mall. On the way, Carlos and I looked at each other and nodded.

"Dad, remember when Dawn told you we were going to make smores last night when you and Sharon called?" I asked. "Well, guess what? She lied to you."

Carlos and I told Dad every single detail.

"Dawn made us not to tell you," said Carlos when we were finished.

"You're saying it was her idea for you and Kristy to leave the house after seven?" asked Dad.

"Bingo," replied Carlos. "She put me into this to pay me $5.00 if I didn't say anything last night."

"I think she was doing that so she could stay behind while the rest of us head to New York City," I added.

"I'm glad you're telling me this," said Dad.

"I know. We didn't want to tell you earlier in case Dawn would hear us because if we did, she would never forgive us," I said. "I told her if you asked, what did she want me to do? Lie?"

"That's right," said Dad.

"I also told her if I get in trouble, it would be her fault, not mine," I added on.

"I agree," said Carlos.

"I'll have to talk to her when we get back home later on," said Dad. "Since you said it was Dawn's idea, you can go to New York CIty with us, not her."

"I even warned her that was going to happen, she didn't listen and did it anyway," I said. "We won anyway. Cokie gets Alan Gray while the rest of us would have Logan."

At the mall, I was relieved Dad didn't mad at me since leaving the house after seven wasn't my idea at all. Why would I make an idea like that since I knew the rules last night? Rules are rules: thank god it wasn't the silliest rules he made long time ago. I don't mind to have phone limits, which would be ten minutes. Sometimes, I forget it would be a bit pass the limit, but usually Dad wouldn't mind as long as it wouldn't be 30 minutes to an hour, which I would never stay on that long unlike most teenagers do. We ate at _Johnny Rockets Diner_.

"I wonder what we should say if Dawn asked who said what," I said.

"Let's not answer," replied Carlos. "Let's just say Dad knew and I wasn't with you at the time."

"Good plan," I whispered as we giggled.

Later, at home, Dawn did got in trouble for having the idea for me and Kristy to leave the house after seven and to lie to Dad.

"You're staying behind while we're going to New York City. Were you trying to get Mary Anne not to go? She knew this would happen since she warned you about this. And since you also lied, you're punished for two weeks. If you behave, you may continue to go on the trip with us. If not, forget it," said Dad.

"Dawn lied to us?" asked Sharon.

"She did," replied Dad.

"You know you shouldn't lie. You just didn't say you were leaving the house because you knew we would say no anyway since it was almost seven at the time," said my stepmother.

"Who told you this?" asked Dawn.

Dad didn't say anything while Sharon said, "Go to your room. You're staying there for the rest of the night."

In my room, I was reading a book when Dawn came in.

"Who told your father about last night?" asked Dawn.

"No one. He just knew," I replied.

That was the plan to say between me and Carlos.

"Are you lying?" asked Dawn.

"Nope," I answered.

"Did Carlos say anything?" asked Dawn.

"No. He wasn't with us," I replied.

She is certainly driving me nuts. At least she wouldn't find out it wasn't us. I'm not saying anything to the others since Dawn would be with us anyway.

"Now excuse me, I just need to get into my nightgown," I replied.

I got my nightgown and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. After that, I went to the attic to join Carlos since he asked me to join him tonight. Dad already knew and said it was fine by him even though it's a school night.

"So, you didn't say anything about Kayla since you said the movie reminded you of her with leukemia," said Carlos.

"Oh, right. Dawn was just driving me nuts about last night," I said.

"Did you tell her Dad just knew?" asked Carlos as I nodded.

I told him about Kayla and then added, "I barely talk about the memory because it upsets me often."

"Oh," said Carlos.

"Yeah," I said. "Kayla's a strong person and doesn't let anything to stop her doing anything she enjoys doing like hanging out with us and go to school. You'll meet her this week she lives three doors down from me. I haven't seen her much. She's been in and out of the hospital."

The next day, at school, I heard something about Dawn getting a detention after school the entire week. I turned I heard it right afterwards by Logan. Dawn got caught cheating on a math test, which was today. Me? I almost got accused by Cokie, but the subsitute teacher knew I had my eyes on my own paper for the whole time: she also got caught cheating from me, so _she_ also has a detention all this week. Thank god that wasn't me. Why? Dawn and I would both be grounded for two weeks if we get a detention or suspended: that was Dad and Sharon's rules. I never get any of that anyway. So, Dawn would be punished for four weeks altogether.

After school, at home, I told Dad what I heard about Dawn.

"How come she's got a detention all this week?" asked Dad.

"For cheating on a test," I replied. "I nearly got accused myself until the sub knew I had my eyes on my own test paper for the whole time and noticed it was Cokie, so she has a detention for a week as well. At least the sub knew I don't cheat at all unlike my regular math teacher. I know because the sub noticed it was Cokie when she almost lied."

"I agree," said Dad.

"Cokie needs to learn not to copy my test answers. You know what I did though? I moved away from her desk after she got caught. She's getting an F anyway so is Dawn," I added.

That night, Sharon had a talk with Dawn for cheating off a test and for getting a detention, so she was going to be punished for two extra weeks. That will teach her a lesson. I never get in trouble in school at all since I always know about school rules according to the handbook that we get at the beginning of each school year. In fact, I don't believe in fights, cheating, etc. I don't even believe in getting detentions or suspensions either.


	7. Mary Anne's Bad Day

In the middle of the night, I was tossing and turning in bed while dreaming about what would happen if she learned Carlos and I mentioned it before Cokie's mom did.

"No, no. No, no," I called out while hearing voices.

_"You told your dad!" shouted Dawn._

_"Who told you?" I asked._

_"I made Kristy tell me," said Dawn. "I'm going to kill you!"_

"No, no. No, no," I continued.

_I ran away from her while she was trying to catch me to beat me up. Mom showed up as an angel appeared and melted Dawn for doing that. Then afterwards, Dawn got unmelted and I escaped._

_"Get back here!" shouted Dawn._

"No, no. Get away!" I kept on.

"Mary Anne, honey," said Dad.

_I was still running when she landed on me and started beating me and I was shouting out for help. Mom returned and freezed her this time. She also noticed I was fading away and she took me as we disappeared in thin air and reappeared in the hospital. Later, they learned I was beaten up to death._

"No, no," I continued on even louder.

Dad came in then and went to me.

"Mary Anne, honey, it's okay, I'm here," said Dad.

"No! No!" I kept on while I kept hearing voices.

"Mary Anne," said Dad trying to wake me up. "It's okay."

That was when I woke up this time.

"You were having a nightmare, sweetie," said Dad.

I was shaking like a leave while he was comforting me.

"It'll be alright," said Dad. "Was it about?"

"I don't want to mention with D-a-w-n around," I said.

"Oh," said Dad.

"Would she hear it downstairs?" I asked.

"I don't think she will," said Dad.

Downstairs, in the kitchen, Dad got us hot chocolate.

"I dreamt what would of happened if we did mention it was me. She was beating me up and Mom tried to save me twice by melting and froze Dawn," I said.

"Oh, it's going to be okay now," said Dad.

"I'm not telling her anyway," I said.

"I understand," said Dad.

The next day, Dawn still thinks that Carlos and I were the ones who told Dad about the other night.

"Number one, Dad knew about it," I said. "Number two, Kathi had told me it was Cokie's mom who mentioned as well."

How I know that because Cokie's mom is Dad's client and Dad told me she had mention it to him. That's how he knew, too. He pretended I didn't tell him, which is a relief. I'm not planning to tell her it was me and Carlos or she'll probably yell at us! Dad must of told Cokie's mom he already knew about it and how Dawn broke leaving the house after seven rule. Thank god that wasn't my idea at all otherwise I'd be in hot soup and the one who would stay behind while the rest of my family would be in New York City. That would still teach Dawn a lesson not to come up with the idea of leaving the house after that hour especially when it gets dark. If it was summer, it would be after eight and we'd be alright to leave after seven, right?

Later, at lunch, Dawn was driving me nuts! It makes me wanna block my ears because I thought she was going to yell in my ear to go deaf! You know what else? She was doing that in front of the whole lunchroom. No one seemed to notice-thank god.

"Can you not yell in my ear? Plus, use your indoor voice, not outdoors," I said. "Have you ever learned the difference between the indoor and outdoor voices?"

I bet she didn't. Once I got my lunch, I walked away to join the others and Logan.

"What is Dawn's problem? Did she got in trouble from the other night?" asked Kristy.

"Bingo, so she's not going to New York City with us unless if she behaves. But I doubt it since she's grounded for four weeks since two weeks were for lying and having the detention," I replied.

"I wouldn't let go to New York City period if she keeps it up," said Kristy.

"In fact, Cokie's mom told Dad while she was seeing him at work. Dawn thinks Carlos and I told her," I said.

Then I wrote the note to tell them why and they read it.

"At least your father filled you in," said Kristy.

"Tell me about it, I didn't want to say it outloud since Dawn's over there," I said.

"I don't blame you," said Stacey.

"Did you see she nearly yelled in my ear? She is driving me nuts," I said. "I'm not confessing in case she yells at me even more."

"Good idea," said Claudia.

"We won't confess either," promised Kristy.

"Okay, good," I smiled.

"We'll just say that Cokie's mother told your dad," said Claudia.

"I know since I knew that anyway," I said.

After school, Dawn said, "I heard you were the one who told your father."

"Who overheard that?" I asked.

That was when Kathi came and said, "Grace opened her big, fat mouth to Dawn who asked her to spy on you girls."

"So, that's how you heard that. Well, Grace heard the wrong thing. Cokie's mom told Dad for the second time in a row in two days, so you and Grace should mind your businesses," I said.

"If I hear you lied, I'll kill you," said Dawn.

"Yeah, sure. I don't lie at all. You were the one who lied to Dad," I said. "Good thing that wasn't my idea otherwise Dad would have my neck and I would be the one who would stay behind during the entire New York City trip. I was the one who listened to the rules and you didn't."

Then I left her while she still had to stay for the detention. What a threat that was. Since when people kill you if you lied? Parents only punish their kids because they find out everything anyway. At home, I was doing my homework. Dawn must have busted my eardrums because I could barely hear a thing for some reason. My ears were blocked like crazy. I almost couldn't hear Dad on the phone and somehow, I did. But I tell him why I almost didn't hear him and he was shocked about that.

After I did my homework, I cleaned out my ears and didn't have any wax, so I bet Dawn did busted my eardrums. Later, I was reading my book when Carlos came home from school. He takes the bus from Stoneybrook Day School. I didn't hear him come home until he came by.

"Hi," said Carlos.

"Hi, I didn't hear you come home," I said.

"That's okay," said Carlos.

"Dawn nearly yelled in my ear, so I think she busted my eardrums or something," I said.

"Uh-oh," said Carlos.

"Tell me about it. Here's the funny story: Dawn thinks you and I told Dad. But listen to this: Cokie's mom told him and guess who overheard about we talked about: Grace," I said.

"Really?" asked Carlos.

"Yep. You know what she said: if she learned I lied, she'd kill me," I continued.

"Oh, brother," said Carlos.

"I know," I agreed. "All Kristy said my dad filled me in. We didn't say anything else."


	8. Mary Anne's Earache

Later, after six, Dad came home from work, which I didn't know at first since I still think my ears are blocked. He was bringing home pizza for a change. Carlos came by to tell me Dad just came home with pizza. We went down for dinner. Sharon was working late and luckily, Dawn is baby-sitting until eight.

"Hi, hon," said Dad.

"Hi," I said. "I didn't hear you come home at first thanks to Dawn."

I only ate one pizza because I was starting to feel nauseous.

"Are you okay, Mary Anne? You didn't eat too much," said Dad.

"I'm starting to feel nauseous," I said as I was about to throw up. "Uh-oh."

I fled from the table and rushed upstairs to the bathroom-just in time-and started vomiting. Dad came in within three seconds later and comforted me.

"It's okay," said Dad stroking my hair.

After that, I was feeling dizzy. The next day, at the doctor's, I learned that my left ear was blocked when Dawn yelled in that ear. The doctor said it'll get better if I put eardrops in it three times a day: when I get up, when I get home from school, and before I go to bed. I didn't say one word to her afterwards. Dad and Sharon blamed it on Dawn. That night, before ten, I managed to put the eardrops in the left ear on my own by using my mirror of my vanity fair. I had to do three drops like the doctor mentioned to me. If it doesn't work, they'll do a surgery to make it better.

I went to bed early because I wasn't feeling well. In the middle of the night, my ear was hurting me, but I ignored so I can sleep. Unfortunately, that didn't work and got me up. I don't know if I should add more or wait until later when I get up for school. The doctor didn't say anything about if I could during the night if it starts to bug me. It was making me nauseous again.

"Not again," I thought to myself.

I almost threw up when I covered my mouth as I rushed over to the bathroom and started throwing up. That was when Dad came in to be with me.

"It's okay, sweetie, I'm here," said Dad.

I was starting to feel dizzy again after that. I was in bed while Dad puts the wet facecloth on my forehead.

"Are you going to be okay now?" asked Dad.

"My ear was bugging me. I wasn't sure if I'm allowed to put extra eardrops in during the night if it bugs me or wait until in the morning," I said.

"I could ask Dr. Wellington tomorrow," said Dad. "Want me to stay in here with you in case you need me for the rest of the night?"

I nodded.

"I'll just go let Sharon know," said Dad.

That's what he did and came back in to stay with me. Good thing he did because my ear was driving me nuts two hours later. He figured that he'll try to put the drops in my ear now. Somehow it worked because I was able to sleep for the rest of the night. Only a few hours later, I was nauseous again and fled to the bathroom as I started puking.

"Dad," I called to him.

"Coming, honey," said Dad as he entered. "It's alright."

The next day, I was tired because of my ear trouble, so I ended up staying home from school. I did put the morning drops at around eight when it started to hurt again. Dad must have told Dr. Wellington about last night because he called me to tell me the doctor said it was fine by him that I put the eardrops if I need them during the night. Thank god for that. I've been vomiting all day. In the meantime, I had a headache. Dad got out of work early, so he was home 30 minutes later. I was asleep, so I didn't know he was home. I did remembered he was getting out of work early, so he'd be off tomorrow. I was on the couch at the time. I've been ignoring the headache for the entire time while I was sleeping. I slept all afternoon. Carlos came home from school then. I had already put the eardrops before he got out of work.

"Hi, Dad," said Carlos.

"Hi, how was school?" asked Dad.

"Good. How's Mary Anne doing?" asked Carlos.

"She told me she's been throwing up and had a headache most of the day. I noticed she was sleeping on the couch when I got home about an hour ago," replied Dad.

"Oh," said Carlos.

That night, I still had a headache when I woke up for awhile when I was starting to feel nauseous. I was watching TV at the time. That was when Dad came in.

"Hi, hon, how are you doing?" asked Dad.

"Still got that headache," I replied.

"Do you want any Aleve?" asked Dad.

"No thanks. I'm feeling nauseous," I answered. "May I have water though?"

"Sure," said Dad.

He went to the kitchen to get the bottle of water and came back to give it to me.

"Thanks," I said.

Good thing I had the bucket because I grabbed it and started puking in it while Dad was stroking my hair.

"It's going to be okay," said Dad.

Before I went to bed and after I put eardrops, Dad asked me if I wanted him to stay with me again in case if I need him. I nodded and that's what he did after midnight. In the middle of the night, I was tossing and turning in bed while that same dream from the night before came back.

"No, no," I called out. "No, no."

I was screaming in my sleep as well.

"No, no," I continued.

Then Dad turned over noticing that and said, "Mary Anne, sweetie."

He got up while I was still dreaming while he sat on the bed with me.

"No, no. No, no," I kept on while I kept screaming in my sleep.

"Mary Anne, it's okay," said Dad as I woke up. "You were having another nightmare."

"That dream came back," I said.

"It'll be alright now," said Dad stroking my hair.

The next day, I was well enough for school. I told my teachers I might not hear them because of my earache. They didn't mind about that. Later, my ex-emeny, Marci, who's been nice to be now, came to sit with me. I could bearly hear her at first.

"What happen?" asked Marci.

I told her about the day before.

"Whoa. Dawn should be careful what she does to you," said Marci.

"I know, she got in trouble for that," I said.

She's been in my play of _Annie_ we've been doing. We've been doing the National Tour. I'm Annie and Marci plays Pepper. We continued doing it in New Haven. The Willis twins' been watching me peform. My good friend, April Levingston, lived here for a few months while her parents got divorced, but she moved back to Maine where she was since after fifth grade ended because her parents figured they'd get their marriage a second chance, which is good even though she wanted to stay here.

At first, I didn't tell Dad about me and Marci since he was never crazy to have me or Dawn to hang out with any immature kids, but when he learned the truth about Marci changing to be a good person, he began to approve her. I began to like Marci when she started to be a better person. I never cared for immature kids either. Cokie should change, too. Dawn came to our table. It had four chairs with our backpacks on the other two chairs.

"This table is taken," I said.

"No, it's not," said Dawn.

"Then, can't you see our backpacks on top of the other two chairs? I have nothing to say to you anyway," I said. "You almost made me go deaf and thanks to you, I had an earache."

"Let's go somewhere else," said Marci. "What kind of a friend or sister are you to do stuff like that?"

She was out that day due to illness. We did took off to another table away from Dawn.


	9. Mary Anne's Earache Goes Away

The only reason why we didn't let Dawn join because she didn't apologize to me.

"If you want to join me and the other girls, you should apologize to me first," I told Dawn after school. "Especially for yelling at me, which caused me to have an earache."

Later, at home, I was doing my homework. After that, I decided to read in the hammock. That's what I was doing after I put some eardrops in. I can't wait for it to go away since it's driving me crazy. In fact, it was making nauseous again.

"Here we go again," I mumbled.

I'm glad I was outside for fresh air. Luckily, it's been working. Thank god it went away afterwards. I was still out there when Dad came home from work early. He came out once he spotted me out there.

"Hi, sweetheart," said Dad.

"Hi, Dad, I'm just reading out here," I said. "It's a nice day out to do so on the hammock."

"I know it is," agreed Dad. "How was Dawn with you?"

"We're all still mad at her, so we decided not to let her join us at lunch until she can apologize to me," I replied.

"Good idea," said Dad.

"I know," I said.

"How's your earache's been doing?" asked Dad.

"I still have it. I just put some more in," I replied. "Plus, it was causing me to feel nauseous. That's why I was out here to get some fresh air."

"Okay," said Dad.

"I can't wait to get rid of the earache. It's driving me crazy," I said.

"I bet," said Dad.

That was when I started to feel nauseous again. Not again!

"Excuse me. I'm just going to get some water. I got that nausea feeling again," I said as I went in to drink some water and came back out with it.

"Are you going to be alright now?" asked Dad.

"I'll be fine," I replied.

That night, my ear popped and did that hurt!

"Ow," I said.

I got up to put some more drops in. Then, I thought I was going to throw up on the kitchen floor and scattered upstairs to the bathroom-just in time- as I started vomiting.

"I should go check on her," said Dad.

That was when he came up noticing I was still throwing up as he came in to comfort me.

"It's okay, honey," said Dad.

After that, I decided to go back outside to get some fresh air. And my ear popped again! I hate that feeling.

"Not again," I mumbled.

I don't know if that's a good sign or not.

"When an ear pops, is that normal?" I asked.

"Probably," said Dad.

"It just hurts when it does that twice," I said. "I can't wait for my ear to get better. Maybe if Dawn didn't yell near my ear, I wouldn't get an earache in the first place."

"I agree with you," said Dad.

My earache was bugging me all night and I'm so tired of that! Thank god I can put some ear drops in my ear in case I need it. My ear didn't get better until Saturday or Sunday. Thank goodness for that so I can sleep! And Dawn _finally _apologized to me on Monday, so she ended up joining us again as long as she doesn't embarrass me anymore. Later, Carlos and I decided to hang out for the afternoon at the library for a bit.

In fact, I was there to volunteer that I usually do every month. I do it three days a week; on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The only reason I was there on a Monday because Ms. Ellway and Mrs. Feld needed my help. The children's room was packed.

"Mind if my brother help me out, too?" I asked.

"Sure," replied Mrs. Feld.

"I just got adopted by her family, but I love it when she calls me her brother," said Carlos.

"That's real nice," said Mrs. Feld.

We did and it was done in no time before I had to leave for the Baby-Sitters Club meeting. Carlos has a basketball practice and had a ride by Mrs. Kishi who was nice enough to bring me to her house so I won't have to walk back.

I'm glad that Carlos is happy with my family. He feels that his family is still alive-only he'd have an extra sister. He had no trouble to fit in. After all, he knew me since we were sixth graders when I first went to his game at my school.

The End


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